No Access For A Feature

Talk about a coach being a big penis. We're trying to do a feel-good feature on a local kid who is also a volunteer fireman in his small home town and Phil Bennett at SMU won't let any players talk to the media until after the season is over. This from a coach who's already been let go. Nice job, Mr. I Can't Even Sniff A Winning Record.

 

Find a way to go around the coach.

Does the kid have a myspace or facebook?

Call the parents maybe?

 

Call the folks at the fire department. If it's a small town, especially, I'm sure they'll at least talk about the guy and probably help you get in touch with him.

 

First of all, try to backdoor Bennett, go through the SID office and explain to them the story is likely to be highly positive, and point out it makes little sense for an already-fired coach to be allowed to obstruct positive publicity for the university.

If that fails, try to contact the kid personally on campus, see if you can go through his parents, HS coach, etc.

Fuck Bennett, what's he gonna do to you? Refuse to do interviews from the unemployment office?

 

The problem is that the kid has probably already been instructed not to talk to you. Kids are in a situation where they think that even a fired coach holds sway over their future.

The bottom line is that it fucking blows to cover college football. It's not even journalism 99 percent of the time.

 

I had an interesting situation like that on a team I cover. I simply called the people that were firing him and it was handled fast. They wanted a good story while getting dissed on. Go above his head. They have already decided he is done so they don't give a SH** about his feelings. It worked for me.

 

That asshole should be grateful that anyone is even TRYING to cover SMU football. I hope he's run over by a fire truck.

 

Yeah, fuck it. Roll with the story. what's the worse-case scenario ... you get the story and a lame duck coach is pist at you?

 

Sounds like a good kid, and you can probably get a good story without even talking to him.

SI did a profile of Ewing probably 15 years ago without ever talking to him. A good feature, I thought back then, as a college know-it-all.

 

I read advice like that somewhere: get quotes from everyone else, then talk to the subject last. And if the subject doesn't talk or doesn't give good quotes, you'll still have a strong story.

 

I always viewed Bennett as a stand-up guy, so it sucks that he's pulling this crap on his way out. I wish I could say I can't blame him, but he used to be way classier than that.

 

Sirs, Madames,

I think the fired-coach-demands-the-Cone-of-Silence is a better story than the fire-dept feature. Maybe not a feature but a column. On its face, it seems unfair to those who cover the team. The reality, though, is that it's unfair to players. Monks might have to take a vow of silence, but do you have to take one when you accept an athletic scholarship. I'm sure athletes in other sports at the school are free to talk. Get everybody talkin' about not talkin', alumni, boosters, cheerleaders, what-have-you. Including--finally--the AD.

YHS, etc